Small library works-in-a-drawer

ABSTRACT

The present invention is an automated storage library suitable for rack-mount and desktop installations. Storage media cartridges and a robotic mechanism that transport the storage media cartridges internal to the library are mounted on a moveable drawer. With the drawer at an internal position, the robotic mechanism transports the storage media cartridges between cartridge slots mounted on the drawer and read-write media drives and other cartridge handling devices not mounted on the drawer. The drawer is capable of moving through an opening in the storage library housing to an external position where the storage media cartridges and the robotic mechanism are readily accessible. At the external position, the storage media cartridges can be inserted and removed from the cartridge slots. The drawer may be detachable from the housing to allow unobstructed access to the components housed in the interior of the storage library.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.09/400,499 filed Sep. 21, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,145 which isincorporated herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention is related to the field of desktop and rack-mountedlibraries that store removable storage media cartridges.

BACKGROUND ART

Small storage libraries are often designed to be mountable innineteen-inch racks. Rack mounting places several restrictions on theinternal layout of the library. For example, routine access to theinterior of the library is limited to the front side of the library.Interior access through the library sides is usually blocked by the rackcabinet. Access through the top or bottom sides is often blocked byother equipment mounted in the rack. As a result, small storagelibraries requiring only a few storage media cartridges usually positionthe cartridges in cartridge slots along the front side of the library.From this position the storage media cartridges are readily accessibleto a user and their labels can be easily viewed. The cartridge slots aredesigned to permit storage media cartridge insertion and removal throughthe side of the cartridge slot facing the user. Side access to thecartridge slots helps keep the height of the library low since no spaceabove or below the cartridge slots is required to accommodate thestorage media cartridges or the user's hands. Robotic mechanisms andcartridge handling devices, such as read-write media drives, read-onlydrives, and transfer ports (a mechanism used to import and exportcartridges from the library) do not require routine access thus they aretypically positioned in the middle or back of the library. Positioningthese devices further back in the library also helps keep their movingmachinery out of reach of the user thus reducing the probability ofinjury.

To increase the capacity of the storage library, the number of storagemedia cartridges held in the storage library is typically increased.Three different configurations have been used to accommodate additionalcartridges within the rack-mount width constraint. In the firstconfiguration, two rows of cartridge slots, one on top of the other, areprovided at the front end of the library. Label viewing is accomplishedthrough a window or door at the front of the library. Storage mediacartridge insertion and removal are performed through the front side ofthe cartridge slots. This first configuration, however, requires a tallhousing to accommodate the top row of storage media cartridges.

In the second configuration, the additional storage media cartridges arepositioned in a second row on the same plane as, and behind the frontrow of storage media cartridges. An example of this configuration can beseen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,892,750, issued to Barkley et al., on Apr. 6,1999. Barkley discloses a library having ten cartridges held in aremovable magazine positioned at the front of the housing. Fiveadditional cartridges are stored in a back row next to the drive. Thisapproach keeps the library height low, but the second row is hiddenbehind the first row. The user must rely on the robotic mechanism tocarry the desired cartridge between the second row and a “mailbox” atthe front of the library. Alternatively, the user must physically removethe front row of storage media cartridges to see and access thecartridges in the second row. Both approaches for reaching the secondrow are slow, and reliance on the robotic mechanism leaves the storagemedia cartridges in the second row vulnerable to mechanical andelectrical failures.

The third storage library configuration positions all of the storagemedia cartridges in a row perpendicular to the front of the library.This configuration takes advantage of the greater depth than width ofthe library to accommodate more storage media cartridges. An example ofthis configuration is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,245 issued toKersey et al., on Feb. 9, 1999. Storage media cartridge insertion andremoval are typically accomplished using a removable magazine. (Overall,magazines are undesirable for cost, schedule and maintenance reasons.)Labels can only be read while the removable magazine is outside thestorage library. After the removable magazine has been installed in thestorage library, the user has no direct means to view or access thestorage media cartridges.

Positioning the robotic mechanism, cartridge handling devices and othercomponents out of reach and out of sight from the user has advantagesfrom a safety point of view, but has several disadvantages from amaintenance point of view. When the robotic mechanism is hidden fromview and it is not operating properly, then the user must remove thehousing from the rack and open it to inspect the robotic mechanism.Repair or replacement work that must be performed on any component notpositioned near the front of the housing also requires the storagelibrary housing to be removed from the rack and opened. Even if thecomponent is accessible from the front side of the storage library, theuser must see and work through a short opening, usually less than seveninches tall.

Another problem facing the user of the small storage library occurs whenthe robotic mechanism jams a storage media cartridge while trying toinsert that cartridge into a cartridge slot or cartridge handlingdevice. The robotic mechanism itself, and other components nearbysometimes makes it impossible to free the jammed storage media cartridgeby reaching in from the front of the library. Again, the library must beremoved from the rack and the housing opened to provide the necessaryclearance to fix the problem.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention is an automated storage library suitable forrack-mount and desktop installations. Storage media cartridges and arobotic mechanism that transport the storage media cartridges internalto the library are mounted on a moveable drawer. With the drawer at aninternal operating position, the robotic mechanism transports thestorage media cartridges between cartridge slots mounted on the drawerand read-write media drives and other cartridge handling devices notmounted on the drawer. The drawer is capable of moving through anopening in the storage library housing to an external position. Movementto the external position allows for easy access to the robotic mechanismand all of the storage media cartridges no matter how the storage mediacartridges are positioned with respect to the robotic mechanism.Movement to the external position also allows top insertion and removalof the storage media cartridges from the cartridge slots whilemaintaining a low storage library height. The drawer may be detachablefrom the housing to allow unobstructed access to the other componentspositioned in the interior of the storage library.

During normal operations the opening in the housing is covered by a doorto prevent human injury by the robotic mechanism. The door may bepivotally attached to the housing or fixed to the drawer. Attaching thedoor to the housing allows the door to be opened while the roboticmechanism is in motion. During maintenance operations the open doorallows the user to watch the robotic mechanism cycle through its tasks.

In another embodiment, the cartridge slots that hold the storage mediacartridges are part of a removable magazine attached to the drawer. Themagazine allows for rapid installation and removable of several storagemedia cartridges at a time. A bar code reader may be mounted on therobotic mechanism or the drawer to support automatic inventory of thestorage media cartridges.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide astorage library where the robotic mechanism and all of the storage mediacartridges are mounted on a drawer that is moveable to the exterior ofthe storage library where they are readily accessible to the user.Preferably, installation and removal of the storage media cartridges areperformed through the top of the cartridge slots that hold the storagemedia cartridges.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage librarywhere the front end of the cartridge handling devices are accessible tothe user through the front side of the storage library after the roboticmechanism and storage media cartridges have been moved to the exteriorof the storage library.

These and other objects, features and advantages will be readilyapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of a first embodiment of a storage libraryimplementing the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the first embodiment with the drawer at theexternal position;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a second embodiment of a storage library;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a third embodiment of a storage library;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the third embodiment with the drawer at theexternal position; and

FIG. 6 is a top view of a fourth embodiment of a storage libraryincluding a removable magazine.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A small automated storage library implementing the present invention isshown in FIG. 1. The storage library has as housing 100 that istypically, but not necessarily, nineteen inches (483 millimeters) wide,seven to ten and one half inches (118 to 267 millimeters) tall andtwenty-five or more inches (635 millimeters) deep. Inside the housing100 are multiple cartridge slots 102 used to hold storage mediacartridges 104.

A robotic mechanism 106 transports the storage media cartridges 104between the cartridge slots 102 and cartridge handling devices such as amedia drive 108 and a transfer port 110. (For this example and theexamples that follow, the robotic mechanism 106 is shown as a pickerassembly 107 attached to a linear carriage 109 riding on a track 111.Other variations of the robotic mechanism 106 may be used within thescope of the present invention.) Media drive 108 may be a read-writedrive, a read-only drive, or a write-only drive. Transfer port 110imports and exports one or more storage media cartridges 102 at a timefrom the library. The robotic mechanism 106 may carry a bar code reader112 for reading bar codes on the label side 114 of the storage mediacartridges 102. The bar code reader 112 supports automatic inventoryoperations in the library.

In this embodiment, the cartridge slots 102 and the robotic mechanism106 are mounted on a drawer 116. The drawer 116 in turn, is slidablyattached to the housing 100 by two drawer slides 118. The drawer slides118 allow the drawer 116 to move between and internal position insidethe housing 100, as shown in FIG. 1, and an external position, as shownin FIG. 2. Media drive 108 and the transfer port 110 are mounted to thehousing 100 so they do not move with the drawer 116. Drawer 116 isshaped to allow the robotic mechanism 106 to align with the media drive108 and transfer port 110 when the drawer 116 is at the internalposition.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the small automated storage library shown inFIG. 1. In this figure the drawer slides 118 are fully extended placingthe drawer 116 at the external position. A door 120 covering an opening122 in the housing 100 swings open to allow the drawer 116, roboticmechanism 106, cartridge slots 102 and the storage media cartridges 104to slide in and out of the housing 100.

Once the cartridge slots 102 are outside the housing 100, the storagemedia cartridges 104 are easily inserted and removed from the cartridgeslots 102. Insertion and removal of the storage media cartridges 104 maybe performed from the side of the cartridge slots 102 or from the top ofthe cartridge slots 102. Top insertion and removal is the preferredapproach because it offers clear access to the storage media cartridges104. Side insertion and removal must contend with the drawer 116 itself,and possibly the robotic mechanism 106. Since storage media cartridge104 insertion and removal are performed with the cartridge slots 102external to the housing 100, the housing size can be kept to a minimum.The housing height and width need only account for when the roboticmechanism 106 inserts and removes the storage media cartridges 104 fromthe cartridge slots 102. Space around the cartridge slots 102 requiredby a human user (not shown) to access the storage media cartridges 104is not necessary when the drawer 116 is in the internal position.

With the drawer 116 at the external position, the robotic mechanism 106may be positioned at one of several locations for different operations.In situations where the user wishes to handle or view the label side 104of the storage media cartridges 104, the robotic mechanism 106 may bemoved to a rear position 200 (shown in phantom) at the back of thedrawer 116 away from the cartridge slots 102. Rear position 200 givesthe user an unobstructed view and side access to the storage mediacartridges 104. During debugging operations, the robotic mechanism 106may be moved to an adjacent position next to the cartridge slots 102, asshown as a central position 202. Here, the user may observe the roboticmechanism 106 in action inserting and removing storage media cartridges104 from the cartridge slots 102, reading the bar-codes on the labelsides 114, and traversing from one cartridge slot 102 to another. Formaintenance operations, the robotic mechanism 106 may be moved to afront position 204 (shown in phantom) at the edge of the drawer 116furthest from the housing 100. Front position 204 allows the user goodaccess while repairing, maintaining, and even replacing the roboticmechanism 106.

The drawer 116 may be detachable from the drawer slides 118. Thisfeature is useful for maintenance and production purposes. For example,detaching drawer 116 from the drawer slides 118 clears opening 122allowing for better access into the housing 100 during maintenance.Field replacements of a failed robotic mechanism 106 can be accomplishedby removing the old drawer 116 and installing a new drawer 116 without amajor disassembly of the housing 100. Also, the robotic mechanism 106and cartridge slots 102 mounted on the drawer 116 create anindependently testable subassembly in the storage library fabricationprocess.

A second embodiment of a small automated storage library implementingthe present invention is shown in FIG. 3. In this configuration, thecartridge slots 102, media drive 108, and robotic mechanism 106 areoriented in rows substantially parallel to the front side of thishousing 300. The cartridge slots 102 and robotic mechanism 106 aremounted on drawer 316. Drawer 316 is attached to the housing 300 throughdrawer slides 318. Additional drawer slides 318 may be included towardthe left-to-right center of the drawer 316 as necessary for support.Media drive 108 is mounted to the housing 300. With the drawer 316 atthe interior, or normal operating position, as shown in FIG. 3, therobotic mechanism 106 has access to the media drive 108. With the drawer316 at the exterior position, the user has easy access to the storagemedia cartridges 104 and the robotic mechanism 106. One advantage of theconfiguration shown in FIG. 3 over that shown in FIG. 1 is that openingthe door 320 gives the user an unobstructed path to the front side ofthe media drive 108. With this access, the user can mount cleaningcartridges in the media drive 108, and view any indicators and selectany controls available on the front side of the media drive 108. Anotheradvantage of the configuration shown in FIG. 3 is that the label side114 of all of the storage media cartridges 104 are viewable with thedrawer 316 in the interior position.

A third embodiment of the present invention with the drawer 416 at theinternal and external positions are shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5respectively. Several variations are shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 ascompared with the examples shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. Insteadof moving linearly on drawer slides as in the first two embodiment, thedrawer 416 in the third embodiment rotates horizontally on a bearing 418between the internal position shown in FIG. 4 and the external positionshown in FIG. 5. One or more mechanical guides 424 may be provided toposition and support the drawer 416 when the drawer is at the interior,or operating position. Next, the door 420 in the third embodiment opensdownward, instead of to the side as in the first embodiment shown inFIG. 2. The cartridge slots 402 of the third embodiment allow forinsertion and removal of the storage media cartridges 104 from twosides, one side for accessibility by the robotic mechanism and the otherside for accessibility by the user. This feature allows the user toinsert and remove the storage media cartridges 104 with the drawer 416at both the internal position and the external position. Finally, thedrawer 416 in the third embodiment holds more than just the cartridgeslots 402 and robotic mechanism 416. Since the label sides 114 of thestorage media cartridges 104 face away from the robotic mechanism 106,the bar code reader 112 is attached to the drawer 416 beside thecartridge slots 402.

Referring to FIG. 5, a benefit of rotating the drawer 416 to theexterior position through the opening 422 is that one side of theopening 422 becomes unobstructed by the drawer 416, robotic mechanism106 or cartridge slots 402. This provides the user room to reach othercomponents inside the housing 400 such as the media drives 108.

FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention with thedrawer 616 at the exterior position. In this fourth embodiment there aretwo sets of cartridge slots, a front set of cartridge slots 602 a and aback set of cartridge slots 602 b. The front set of cartridge slots 602a form a removable magazine 625. A magazine socket 626 provided on thedrawer 616 demountably receives the removable magazine 625 on the drawer616. The back set of cartridge slots 602 b may be permanently attachedto the drawer 616. The door 620 is attached to the drawer 616 and ismovable therewith.

Note that the back set of cartridge slots 602 b remain inside thehousing 600 when the drawer 616 is at the exterior position, as shown inFIG. 6. This shows a case where the drawer 616 is used to move the backset of cartridge slots 602 b to the front of the housing 600 where theycan be reached. While it is preferred, moving all of the cartridge slots602 a-b to the exterior of the housing 600 is not always necessary. Withthe back set of cartridge slots 602 b at or near the opening 622, theuser can insert and remove storage media cartridges 104 from the backset of cartridge slots 602 b from the same direction that the roboticmechanism 106 inserts and removes the storage media cartridges 104.Using longer drawer slides 618, the back set of cartridge slots 602 bcould be brought all of the way out of the housing 600 where the usercould insert and remove the storage media cartridges 104 through thetops of the back set of cartridge slots 602 b.

While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described,it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe allpossible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in thespecification are words of description rather than limitation, and it isunderstood that various changes may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A storage library for storing a plurality ofstorage media cartridges, the storage library comprising: a housinghaving an opening; at least one media drive disposed inside the housing;a drawer moveably connected to the housing, the drawer having aninternal position inside the housing, and operative to be moved throughthe opening of the housing to an external position; a plurality ofcartridge slots disposed on the drawer for holding the plurality ofstorage media cartridges; and a robotic mechanism disposed on the drawerand operative to move the plurality of storage media cartridges one at atime between the plurality of cartridge slots and the at least one mediadrive.
 2. The storage library of claim 1 wherein the drawer isdetachable from the housing.
 3. The storage library of claim 1 furthercomprising at least one drawer slide moveably connecting the drawer tothe housing, the at least one drawer slide permitting the drawer to bemoved between the interior position and the exterior position.
 4. Thestorage library of claim 1 wherein at least one storage media cartridgeof the plurality of storage media cartridges has a bar code, the storagelibrary further comprising a bar code reader disposed on the roboticmechanism and operative to read the bar code of the at least one storagemedia cartridge.
 5. The storage library of claim 1 further comprising adoor operative to cover the opening in the housing, the door beingpivotally attached to the housing.
 6. The storage library of claim 1further comprising a door operative to cover the opening in the housing,the door being attached to the drawer.
 7. A storage library for storinga plurality of storage media cartridges, the storage library comprising:a housing having an opening; at least one cartridge handling devicedisposed inside the housing, wherein the at least one cartridge handlingdevice is at least one media drive operable to record information on andretrieve information from the plurality of storage media cartridges; adrawer moveably connected to the housing, the drawer having an internalposition inside the housing, and operative to be moved through theopening of the housing to an external position; a plurality of cartridgeslots disposed on the drawer for holding the plurality of storage mediacartridges; and a robotic mechanism disposed on the drawer and operativeto move the plurality of storage media cartridges one at a time betweenthe plurality of cartridge slots and the at least one cartridge handlingdevice.
 8. A storage library for storing a plurality of storage mediacartridges, the storage library comprising: a housing having an opening;at least one cartridge handling device disposed inside the housing; adrawer moveably connected to the housing, the drawer having an internalposition inside the housing, and operative to be moved through theopening of the housing to an external position; a plurality of cartridgeslots disposed on the drawer for holding the plurality of storage mediacartridges, wherein the plurality of cartridge slots form at least onemagazine, the storage library further comprising at least one magazinesocket provided on the drawer for demountably coupling the at least onemagazine to the drawer; and a robotic mechanism disposed on the drawerand operative to move the plurality of storage media cartridges one at atime between the plurality of cartridge slots and the at least onecartridge handling device.
 9. A storage library for storing a pluralityof storage media cartridges, the storage library comprising a roboticmechanism disposed on a drawer, the robotic mechanism directly movingthe plurality of storage media cartridges between at least one cartridgeslot on the drawer and at least one media drive located within thestorage library, the drawer operative to pass at least partially throughan opening in the storage library.
 10. A method of handling mediacartridges comprising: opening a drawer to bring a robotic mechanismfrom within a housing to outside of the housing; inserting a mediacartridge into a cartridge slot mounted on the drawer; and closing thedrawer to permit the robotic mechanism to load the media cartridgedirectly from the cartridge slot to a media drive located within thehousing.
 11. A method of handling media cartridges as in claim 10wherein opening the drawer comprises sliding the drawer along at leastone drawer slide.
 12. A method of accessing a media drive in a storagelibrary comprising moving at least a portion of a drawer through anopening in the storage library, the drawer containing a roboticmechanism for directly loading media cartridges from the drawer into themedia drive, thereby providing an unobstructed path through the openingto the media drive.
 13. A method of accessing a cartridge handlingdevice as in claim 12 wherein the drawer travels linearly along slides.